What He Shields Read online

  WHAT HE SHIELDS (What He Wants, Book Seventeen)

  by Hannah Ford

  Copyright 2015, Hannah Ford, all rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK CONTAINS THE FIRST THREE BOOKS OF THE OBSESSED WITH HIM SERIES AS BONUS BOOKS. WHAT HE SHIELDS IS THE LENGTH OF A NORMAL WHAT HE WANTS BOOK.

  ***

  CHARLOTTE

  As soon as I rolled the car window down, the expression on the man’s face changed from panic to gratitude.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you so much, Charlotte.”

  I didn’t like hearing my name on his lips – something about it felt too intimate, too close. He was a stranger, and yet he knew something about me and what had happened to me. I imagined him sitting somewhere, some apartment or coffee shop in the city, his computer open in front of him, reading an article about me while he sipped his coffee, shaking his head at the horrible details of how I’d been held for auction at some BDSM club, almost raped and murdered.

  It was extremely unsettling, knowing that this man knew the details not just of my life, but the intimate details of the most upsetting night of my life.

  “What is it?” I asked. “What do you want?”

  “Miss?” Jared asked from the front seat.

  “It’s okay, Jared,” I said. “I’m okay.”

  “I need you to help me,” the man said. “Mikayla, she… she was taken from the club.” His hand went to his face, his fingers pressing his temples for a moment before smoothing his hair back from his forehead.

  “Everyone was taken from the club,” I said. “Force has been closed down.”

  “I know, but the girls…” His tongue snaked against his bottom lip nervously. “They were being taken away before that.”

  “And you know where they are?”

  “No.” He leaned in toward the window, and I instantly recoiled. Not because I was afraid of him – I wasn’t – but out of instinct. “I don’t know exactly, but I have an idea. They’re taking them away, they’re… “ He trailed off and glanced around, like he was afraid of saying more.

  “But you don’t know where they’ve been taken?” I pressed.

  “No.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and went to roll up the window. “But I can’t help you.” It was true. I couldn’t help him. He didn’t have any information, and even if he did, I wasn’t sure what, exactly, I was supposed to do with it.

  “Wait.” He put a meaty hand on top of the glass, stopping the window from rolling up. “Please,” he said. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Five seconds.”

  “I know they’re being taken,” he said. “To different places. It’s a conspiracy. It goes deep. Very deep, Charlotte. There are important people involved.”

  My skin suddenly felt icy hot and every one of the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I wasn’t sure why – he was talking complete nonsense. A conspiracy with important people involved? At a sex club? It didn’t make sense. And yet for some reason, maybe because of the things I ‘d seen at Force, the things I’d experienced, I believed him.

  “How do you know this?” I demanded.

  “I worked there,” he said. “I was a dungeon master at Force.”

  “Then why are you doing this? How can I be expected to believe you’d want to blow the whistle on something you might have been a part of?”

  “Mikayla,” he said. “Mikayla and I… ” He trailed off, and I saw the pain on his face. He reached up and pressed his fingers to his temples again as if he had a headache. When he looked at me, I saw the fear and regret reflected in his eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  He’d fallen in love with her.

  I sighed. “What people?” I pressed. “What important people are involved?”

  He looked around again, his eyes darting suspiciously up to the front of the car where Jared had turned around in his seat and was watching us intently. Jared had given me more time and room than I could have expected – if Noah knew that Jared was letting me talk to this man, Jared would probably be fired immediately.

  “Can you get out of the car?” the man asked.

  “No.” I shook my head.

  “I can’t – ” he started. “I don’t want to say anything here.”

  I started to turn away, but he grabbed the bottom of my window again. “Please,” he said. “Can we meet up later? Please. Anywhere. Anytime. I’ll tell you everything I know. The police, they won’t…” He trailed off again, and his voice caught in his throat. “You’re the only one who can help me.”

  “Charlotte,” Jared said warningly.

  “Yeah, okay,” I said. I reached into my bag and scribbled my number down on a piece of paper, cursing myself for having a bleeding heart. If this man turned out to be a class-A crazy, I was going to have to get my number changed. Not to mention what Noah was going to do to me when he found out.

  “Text me later,” I said. “We’ll meet up.”

  “Seven o’clock?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I began to roll up the window, and the man began to return to his car.

  “Hey,” I called after him. “Hey, what’s your name?”

  “John,” he said. “My name’s John.”

  And then was gone.

  I met Jared’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Thank you, Jared,” I said.

  He nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t happy. His hands tightened around the steering wheel, and he didn’t say a word to me the rest of the way to the hotel.

  ***

  When I got to Loft 37, Noah was standing in the lobby, arguing with the manager.

  “You were told she was a very important client of mine,” he was saying to a tiny man wearing bifocals, a maroon suit, and a gold-plated nametag that said William in swirly script.

  “I understand, Mr. Cutler,” William said. “We tried our best, but as you know, we’re a hotel, not a prison. If your client was that important, perhaps she should have been in a higher security situation.”

  Noah’s eyes widened, his angular jaw twitching in anger. “Maybe your two bit hotel should get – ” he started, but I rushed over to him, sliding my arm quickly through his.

  “I’m Charlotte Holloway,” I said to William smoothly. “I’m so sorry, but I need to steal Mr. Cutler for a moment.”

  “By all means,” William said, holding his hands up, obviously relieved I was saving him from Noah’s wrath.

  I dragged Noah over to the block of elevators that were on the other side of the lobby.

  He was furious. I could feel the rage radiating off of him like a dry heat.

  “This place,” he said as he punched the button for the elevator, “is completely incompetent. As soon as we find Lilah, I’m moving her.”

  The elevator opened and two men in business suits came out, chattering excitedly about something having to do with a merger.

  Noah pushed by them and into the elevator, punching the button for the 56th floor. The elevator began its ascent.

  “How was your meeting with the psychiatrist?” he asked.

  I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He wanted to talk about my meeting? It was surprising, what with everything that was going on with Lilah. But maybe he was looking for a distraction.

  “Well, I thought it had gone okay,” I said, unable to keep the grumpiness out of my voice. “He told me it was just a formality, but then –”

  “He?” Noah glanced over at me sharply, his tone even angrier than it had been before.

  “Yes,” I said. “Dr. Jason Cartwright.”

  Noah’s jaw twitched.

  “He told me it was formali
ty, but then he sent me an email saying I need ten counseling sessions in order to be allowed back to school.”

  Noah stayed silent for a moment and a skittering of anxiety and anticipation moved through my stomach.

  When he finally spoke, it was only one word.

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

  “I mean no, you will not be having private counseling sessions with a male therapist.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I have to.”

  Noah’s breathing deepened, his eyes trained on the display inside the elevator that showed what floor we were on. Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six…

  “It’s mandated by the school,” I tried, hoping he would see that if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have anything to do with ridiculous Dr. Jason Cartwright and his ridiculous counseling sessions. But I needed to get back to my classes. I was already going to have to work my ass off to catch up, and if my return were delayed any longer, then I was going to fall even further behind and have that much more work to do.

  But it was the wrong thing to say.

  Noah reached out and pushed the button on the elevator, and the car jerked to a stop between the 36th and 37th floors.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, panic blooming in my chest. “You can’t stop an elevator in between floors, Noah.” Thoughts of the car plunging to the basement, the two of us trapped inside as we fell to a fiery death, flashed through my mind.

  I moved toward the buttons, but Noah grabbed my arms, stopping me.

  “You will not be having counseling sessions with this man, Charlotte. Do you understand?”

  “But the school – ”

  His grip around my wrists tightened and he pushed me back up against the side of the elevator, his hands roaming down the sides of my body.

  “I don’t care what the school says. I care what I say. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly, my knees weakening.

  “Do. You. Understand?” he asked again, and now he was pulling my shirt up over my tits, exposing my bra.

  “Yes.” I wanted to submit to him, knew I had to listen to him. But there was a part of me that wondered how I was going to get out of this, how I was going to be able to keep a promise to him that I wasn’t capable of keeping. “But, Noah, you have to understand that I need to get back to school.”

  His mouth was on me now, his lips moving over the sensitive spot behind my ear, and his hands reached up and gripped the back of my neck, pulling me toward him gently.

  “I don’t give a fuck about school,” he murmured. “I do give a fuck about some asshole prying into our personal business.”

  “I won’t talk to him about anything personal,” I tried.

  Noah raised his chin in the air, and then his gaze slid down my body, taking in my exposed bra, the skirt that hit just below my knees, and the color that I was sure was high on my cheeks, betraying my excitement.

  Fuck.

  Now I was in trouble.

  He removed his suit coat and laid it carefully over the railing that ran around the perimeter of the elevator car. Then he slowly, agonizingly, unbuttoned the cuffs of his crisp white shirt, and began rolling up his sleeves.

  His hard, strong forearms came into view, and I swallowed nervously.

  Was he going to fuck me right here in the elevator? Would he whip me with his belt the way he’d done last night? My pussy flooded with desire and want, causing my panties to become wet.

  “Turn around, Charlotte.” His voice was steely, controlled.

  I obeyed, turning so that I was facing the side of the elevator.

  Then I felt his body push up against me, his cock hard through his pants and the thin material of my skirt, letting me know how much dominating me was turning him on. And then his hands were pushing my sweater further up around my neck, until he’d pulled it completely off of me.

  His hands found my bra, teasing me through the sheer fabric, his fingers rolling my nipples until they were swollen with desire. My clit pulsed between my legs and I tipped my head back and moaned as his lips brushed against my collarbone.

  “Are you wet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re touching me.”

  “Do you like when I touch you, Charlotte?”

  “Yes,” I moaned.

  He slowly peeled the cups of my bra down until my tits popped free of the material. He grabbed my bare breasts, rubbing them, teasing them, causing the hot ache between my legs to burn harder. Then his hand moved over the soft fullness of my stomach.

  I tensed instantly – I still wasn’t completely comfortable with him touching me there, was still self-conscious about my body, even though he’d told me over and over again how gorgeous I was, how sexy he found me.

  His hand lingered too long, and I couldn’t stop myself from I grabbing it, even though I knew he wouldn’t stand for me trying to control the way he was touching me.

  I felt his body tense behind mine, and he pulled on my hair, wrapping it around his fingers.

  “Hands behind your back,” he growled, and I put my hands behind my back obediently. “Now arch your back.”

  I did was I was told, and as I did, I caught sight of myself in the reflection of the chrome panels that made up the sides of the elevator.

  Noah released my hair and I watched as it fell over my shoulders, tickling my bare skin. My tits were completely exposed, pulled out of their cups, held high and tight by my bra. My nipples were swollen and raw, pebbled into rosy nubs.

  Behind me, I could see Noah pulling off his tie. I watched as he bound my hands together, roping the material around my wrists and knotting it tight, so tight that it cut into the bruises I still had from where he’d tied me with his belt.

  He reached around and ran his hands over my stomach again, causing me to shiver. I couldn’t stop him this time, and I tried not to think about how perfect his body was, how his six-pack seemed as if it had been cut from stone, the muscles of his body making him look like he’d stepped from the pages of a fitness magazine.

  “You are beautiful,” he breathed.

  “Noah,” I groaned, and his lips found mine, his tongue pushing past my resistance into my mouth. His hand skimmed the side of my body, moving down and cupping my ass before he pushed my skirt up.

  He slid my panties over to the side, baring me to him, and then slid a finger into my pussy.

  I gasped.

  He pushed another finger inside of me and I gasped again, harder this time, my breath coming in shallow pants.

  Then he pushed a third finger into me, and I felt myself stretching around him, the sensation both pleasurable and excruciating at the same time. I rocked my hips, trying to get away from him, trying to get more comfortable.

  “No.” He reached out and held my hip firmly, not allowing me to move until I got used to the feel of his fingers inside of me. “Does it feel good, Charlotte?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I felt his thumb skimming over my asshole slowly, exploring, contemplating.

  “Please,” I said. “I don’t – ”

  “Quiet.” He pulled back and spanked me hard on the ass with his free hand, and I watched my reflection as my tits bounced with the force of it.

  His thumb moved around the rim of my ass and then penetrated me, so that I was filled by him in both of my holes.

  The pressure became even more excruciating, almost too much to bear, and I whimpered.

  He kept me like that, not moving his fingers, holding my hip, not letting me move.

  “Please,” I begged.

  “Please what, Charlotte?” I caught his eye in the mirror, and I saw his lip curve into a wicked smile. He was enjoying every moment of this, torturing me, the pain mixing with pleasure into an intoxicating cocktail that was impossible to resist.

  “Please fuck me.”

  He leaned down until he was breathing into my ear, his fingers still buried inside my
pussy and my ass. “Do you think you deserve to be fucked, Charlotte?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll be good,” I said, the desperation and want apparent in my voice. “Please, sir, I’ll do whatever you want.”

  A brief look of satisfaction passed over Noah’s face. He waited one long, agonizing beat, then carefully removed his fingers from inside of me. As soon as he did, I wanted them back, wanted him invading my most private parts, connecting me to him. He made sure my skirt was hiked up as far as it could be, bunched around my hips, and then he tugged at my panties, pulling them down and sliding them off. Goosebumps prickled the back of my thighs as he touched me.

  Our eyes locked again in the reflection of the mirror.

  Noah stood up and slipped my panties into his pocket, that devilish grin never leaving his face.

  He didn’t say anything, just let me stand there, my hands tied behind my back, my bra pushed down and my breasts exposed, my skirt hiked up and my pussy hanging out, no panties.

  I wanted to moan and beg, but I was afraid that would just make him torture me more.

  After a long moment, Noah picked his suit coat up, then reached over and pushed a button on the elevator’s display panel. A second later the car roared to life before continuing its ascent to the 56th floor. Noah leaned against the side of the elevator, his arms crossed over his chest, his suit coat thrown over his arm.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer.

  “Noah,” I said, my heart thrumming against my rib cage. “What are we doing?”

  “Shh,” he said.

  I was still facing away from him, the two of us talking to each other in the reflection of the rose gold panels.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

  Noah didn’t move. He just stood there, leaning casually against the side wall.

  “Noah,” I said. “Noah, cover me up.” I tried to tug my wrists apart, but there was no give – he’d tied me too tightly, and now I knew why. He wanted to keep me from being able to cover myself. It wasn’t just so he would be in control. It was so I would be completely out of control.

  “After you, Ms. Holloway,” he said, motioning for me to get out of the elevator.